Say Yes to Education set to get $550,000 from Onondaga County

Syracuse, NY -- Onondaga County will give $550,000 to the city's Say Yes to Education program under a revised agreement that pledged money to the city to mitigate sewer work, most of which is no longer expected to take place.

The Syracuse Common Council Monday unanimously approved the revised agreement, which directs nearly $14 million to city interests, including Say Yes, which promises free college tuition and books to Syracuse public high school graduates.

The Onondaga County Legislature still must vote on the agreement. City councilors said they hoped to have the legislature's approval by mid-August.

The original sewage treatment deal, passed in 2007, aimed to mitigate impact from construction of four regional sewage treatment plants in the city. The plants would have caught sewer overflow during heavy rain and snow melt, treated it and released into Onondaga Creek and Harbor Brook.

But Onondaga County has opted not to build three of the plants, and instead to use green infrastructure to reduce storm water runoff. The Midland Avenue plant already is built.

"This is a good example of collaborative government," said Councilor-at-Large Kathleen Joy. "The mitigation money stays with the city. The technology changes."

Neighborhood advocate Rich Puchalski said he approved of the amended deal. Puchalski is executive director of Syracuse United Neighbors, which advocates for residents of the South, Southwest and Near West sides of the city.

"I think this will do wonders for the Skunk City neighborhood that we represent," Puchalski said.

The city and county worked together to alter the agreement so all the money promised to neighborhood groups and projects still would be delivered. The $550,000 for Say Yes was an added feature. It would redirect money that would have been spent on construction-related programs.

County Executive Joanie Mahoney voiced support for the Say Yes program in her State of the County speech.

Of the $14 million outlined in the agreement, the county already has spent about $5 million on city projects. Additionally, the county would spend:

• $3 million for two neighborhoods that would have been affected by a treatment plant at Harbor Brook. Skunk City and the Sackett Tract will receive $2 million and $1 million, respectively, for housing and neighborhood improvements.

• $2.2 million for upgrades to two downtown Syracuse parking garages that would be open all day and night, every day of the week. The garages, owned by Anthony Fiorito, are the Atrium Garage and what's being called the Clinton Street Garage at Armory, located on Clinton Street where Walton Street connects.

• $270,000 for the Creekwalk project between Inner Harbor and Armory Square. This would be in addition to $100,000 already spent by the county on this project.